Baby Gabe

One of the best things about Baby Gabe is his ability to put a smile on people’s faces — even people we wouldn’t think would be susceptible to the charms of a cute baby.  We’ve seen police officers, day laborers, street vendors, and even high school kids smile and wave to Baby Gabe.  Then again, it’s difficult to ignore a baby smiling and waving at you.  Even when he’s not waving, he’s usually drawing attention to himself by running around laughing.  We see some people try to fight it, but they eventually succumb and smile.

Dog owners know that different breeds require different levels of exercise.  Sporting dogs like retrievers need to have a lot of time to run around to get rid of all their energy.  Toy dogs, like the kinds everyone in LA seems to tote around while running errands, are just fine being carried.  Baby Gabe is a sporting dog.  He can calm down enough to sit quietly flipping through books for about 5 minutes.  Then he’s off running to do something else.  He’s a bundle of energy, and we sometimes struggle to keep up with him.  It’s no wonder we haven’t been to the gym since he was born, and we’re maintaining our weight.  He gives us all the exercise we need.

Baby Gabe *finally* has started teething.  It’s a bit blurry, but the picture on the left shows a thin white line emerging from his bottom gum.  He’s handled it all very well.  He’s back to getting up about twice a night for some comfort, but we feel he’ll get back to his usual sleep pattern soon.

His parents, on the other hand, have been knocked about by an unrelenting cough and massive congestion.  Mom is finally on the mend after having been sick the past 12 days, but dad has a doctor’s appointment today to rule out pneumonia.  Our friend, Rose, has two daughters, and she said, “You won’t believe the type of diseases you’ll have to deal with.  Prepare to be sicker than you’ve ever been in your life.”  Oy vey.

Perhaps the most amazing thing about Baby Gabe is his adaptability.  We took him out of day care for the past two weeks because his Ngin-ngin and Yeh-yeh were visiting.  We were a little worried he’d be bored at home without his fellow playmates around or be upset with having his daily routine altered.  We should have known better.  He adapted just fine.  That dark spot over his left eye in the photo isn’t a birthmark.  It’s a bruise following his faceplant on our hardwood floor.  He cried for about 30 seconds until his dad sat him down in front of a mirror so he could play with his reflection.  Just like that, injury forgotten.  Baby Gabe keeps his happy demeanor in spite of viruses, constipation, and injuries.  And for that, we are truly thankful.

The picture on the left was taken Tuesday when he was still in the middle stage of the virus.  The picture on the right was taken on Thursday.  He’s got his appetite back and is back to sleeping soundly.  We even returned him to day care Friday after confirming that he’s no longer contagious.  His providers said they wouldn’t have been able to tell he had been sick.  They said he had a great time playing and laughing all day.  Welcome back, Baby Gabe!  We missed you.

Gabriel just hasn’t had much luck with viruses.  He has been waylaid by Herpangina, a particularly nasty little virus that causes sores in the soft palate and back of the throat.  He had a fever as high as 102.5 last night.  Although it’s nice to know what’s wrong, it’s cold comfort because there’s really nothing we can do about it besides giving him some motrin to control the pain.  He has the most expressive eyes and mouth so it’s really heart-wrenching to see him in pain as he clutches his throat.  Still, he’s been a trouper.  He’s playing right now.  Expected recovery is 5 days.

Baby Gabe’s cold is over, and he’s all better now.  He’s back to his usual eating and napping routine.   Unfortunately, his days of sitting contentedly in his bouncer while his parents ate are over.  He always wants to be up at the table with us.    We got him a space-saver high chair so he could sit with us during meals.  We usually feed him his dinner before we eat.  So far it’s been a success, but we sometimes put him to bed before we have dinner in case we want a more leisurely meal.

Okay, now we don’t feel so bad for missing his cold two weeks ago.  He caught another bug on Thursday as evidenced by  the coughs, sneezes, and runny nose since then.   This one hit him much harder than the last.  But judging from this picture, can you tell he’s sick?  He’s been a trooper throughout — always pleasant and happy.